Vegetation-generated turbulence does not impact the erosion of natural cohesive sediment

Autumn R. Deitrick; David K. Ralston; Christopher R. Esposito; Melissa Millman Baustian; Maricel Beltran Burgos; Andrew J. Courtois; Heidi M. Nepf

doi:10.1029/2024gl109730

USGS · 70256063

Vegetation-generated turbulence does not impact the erosion of natural cohesive sediment

Autumn R. Deitrick·David K. Ralston·Christopher R. Esposito·Melissa Millman Baustian·Maricel Beltran Burgos·Andrew J. Courtois·Heidi M. Nepf

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Abstract

Previous studies have demonstrated that vegetation-generated turbulence can enhance erosion rate and reduce the velocity threshold for erosion of non-cohesive sediment. This study considered whether vegetation-generated turbulence had a similar influence on natural cohesive sediment. Cores were collected from a black mangrove forest with aboveground biomass and exposed to stepwise increases in velocity. Erosion was recorded through suspended sediment concentration. For the same velocity, cores with pneumatophores had elevated turbulent kinetic energy compared to bare cores without pneumatophores. However, the vegetation-generated turbulence did not increase bed stress or the rate of resuspension, relative to bare cores. It was hypothesized that the short time-scale fluctuations associated with vegetation-generated turbulence were not of sufficient duration to break cohesion between grains, explaining why elevated levels of turbulence associated with the pneumatophores had no impact on the erosion threshold or rate.

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Geophysical Research Letters Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 29.09003621081129° to 29.15° latitude; -90.27° to -90.21841177935528° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Autumn R. Deitrick, David K. Ralston, Christopher R. Esposito, Melissa Millman Baustian, Maricel Beltran Burgos, Andrew J. Courtois, Heidi M. Nepf. 2024-07-10. Vegetation-generated turbulence does not impact the erosion of natural cohesive sediment. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl109730

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